Burnt Oak Junior School

We believe every child can be successful in maths. Our aim is to facilitate highly effective teaching and learning that is practical, challenging and engaging, whilst supporting children on their journey towards mastery. Every adult has the highest expectations of the children, and as such, expects all children to attain high standards. Children are expected to develop a deep understanding of a concept through mathematical reasoning before progressing to the next level.  

The National Curriculum identifies three main aims in the primary phase:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. 
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language 
• can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions

At Chatsworth and Burnt Oak, we aim to ensure that conceptual, pictorial, and abstract (CPA) understanding is integrated into lessons alongside procedural and factual fluency. We believe that maths does not rely on rote learning of facts and procedures without the underlying understanding required to use them effectively. There is a focus on number and calculation from the beginning.

We aim to promote positive attitudes towards maths as we believe there is a link between success, confidence and enjoyment.  We strive to develop our children into self-motivated learners who are able to use and apply mathematics in a wide range of situations. We recognise that mathematics is uniquely powerful in helping children to make sense of, and describe, our world and in enabling them to solve problems.

Teachers in all year groups plan using the White Rose scheme as the basis of their lessons, supplemented with other resources as appropriate. When planning a lesson, teachers need to plan for a balance of conceptual understanding, language and communication and mathematical thinking to support children’s mathematical problem solving. If a pupil has meaningful understanding of the maths they are learning, they will be able to represent it in different ways, use mathematical language to communicate related ideas and think mathematically with the concept. This will enable them to apply their understanding to a new problem in an unfamiliar situation.

Fluency - Pupils should be able to recall and apply mathematical knowledge both rapidly and accurately.  However, it is important to stress that fluency often gets confused for just memorisation – it is far more than this. Pupils should be able to recognise relationships and make connections in mathematics.

Reasoning - The way pupils speak and write about mathematics transforms their learning. Mastery approaches, such as White Rise, use a carefully sequenced, structured approach to introduce and reinforce mathematical vocabulary. Pupils explain the mathematics in full sentences. They should be able to say not just what the answer is, but how they know it’s right. This is key to building mathematical language and reasoning skills.

Problem-Solving - Mathematical concepts are explored in a variety of representations and problem-solving contexts to give pupils a richer and deeper learning experience. Pupils combine different concepts to solve complex problems, and apply knowledge to real-life situations.

Chatsworth and Burnt Oak recognise the importance of children’s number fluency. Pupils should be able to recall and apply mathematical knowledge both rapidly and accurately. Learning times tables is an essential part of mathematical education. Children who have mastered their tables gain a solid foundation in mathematics that will help them throughout their progression within the subject.

The DfE introduced the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) in 2017. This statutory assessment takes place in June each year. Year 4 children at Burnt Oak are prepared to take this test through discrete taught times tables lessons which focus on conceptual understanding.

Pupils in KS2 have access to Times Table Rockstars to practise their tables at home.

One times table is focused on half-termly. The times table is introduced within the first week of a new half term during a discrete session. The same times table is then taught in short sessions every week. The repetition of a particular table will allow children, who may find learning their times tables more challenging, the time to reinforce and solidify the new information in their brain. In addition, teachers will ensure that previously taught times tables are revisited regularly.